Yearning for the Living God

I just finished a wonderful book & wanted to share! - Yearning for the Living God, by F. Enzio Busche.
It's an autobiography, and includes so many amazing, faith-building stories - not only from his life, but the lives of those around him.
He grew up in Germany and was a member of the Hitler Youth. That alone was pretty amazing to read about. And the miracles of his life, his conversion story...wow.
I am including a few of my favorite quotes/stories below.

-"My spiritual insight let me see that we as human beings live far below our potential from day to day. One day we will be confronted with our true potential; and we will see what we have missed because we have not embraced the ultimate help offered to us from our Creator."

-"I believe one of the greatest challenges for members of the Church is to ensure that our lives are not led by routines. When we are governed by routine, we tend to become insensitive to the need to walk with the companionship of the Holy Ghost. When we are blessed with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we are protected in dangerous situations, and we become capable of making right decision and overcoming all fear."

His entire "Quiet Heroes" chapter is so faith-building. Just a couple that touched my heart:

-He talked about an extremely poor, elderly woman whose entire family was killed by the Russians. She walked 2 hours to church each way. He decided to ask her if he could drive her and this was her response: "Brother Busche, you cannot do this to me. I'm an old lady. how can I ever show the Lord how much I love Him, how much I adore Him, how much I depend on His atoning sacrifice for my salvation, and my desire to serve him? I'm too old and too ugly and too forgetful to serve as the Relief Society president or even as a teacher. The greatest joy of my life is on Sunday when I can get up early in the morning, walk to church, and take the sacrament. Yes, it is a long walk and, yes, my legs hurt and my back hurts, but every step I rejoice. Every tree and every shrub is my friend. I know every person behind every window. I greet them all with my heart and with my testimony. As I walk, I sing the hymns and when I arrive, I'm through the hymnbook and my heart of full of joy and gratitude because my walk is a celebration of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. And you want to take this away from me? You can't do this to me. Let me walk."

-He talked about a man named Brother Birkhahn. He said he was "vigorous, positive, and full of enthusiasm for the gospel...He was a man who never permitted himself to be without the Spirit."

I could keep the quotes & stories coming. It was a truly uplifting book. And now I must take this knowledge and ask:

1. What am I sacrificing to show the Lord how truly thankful I am for this gospel and especially for the atonement of my Savior? I'm obviously not walking 2 hours to church each way. What can I do more? How can I serve more? What more can I give? These are all questions I am pondering...

2. Am I sleeping through my routines as a member of this church? Am I taking my birth into it for granted? I need to recommit myself and WAKE UP to the Spirit! He talks a lot about people around the world and their amazing faith and how they are so EXCITED about the gospel. This is something I am going to work on!

3. Am I listening to & OBEYING the promptings of the Holy Ghost? I read about these miracles that have happened when they have obeyed the promptings of the Holy Ghost & I wonder why I haven't experienced anything so miraculous from a prompting. And then the other morning, I woke up at 6:30 and the spirit was prompting me to get out of bed and seek my Savior. Instead I turned over & went back to sleep. How can He trust me with an important prompting when I can't even obey a prompting to just get out of bed? Another thing I'm going to work on...

Reading this book just reaffirmed to me that the Lord loves us! He watches out for us! He wants us to just listen and obey and He will make miracles happen!

August Slideshow, Family Miracles & Kids

Here are our updates from August. First, there's the slideshow, then I had to document some of the ways we've seen the hand of God in our lives this past month (Miracles), and then below that are the girls' adventures.

SLIDESHOW


FAMILY MIRACES (We have seen the hand of God so much in our lives lately. He has truly taken care of us during our time of "famine." We are SO blessed!)

#1: The Chiropractor (Dr. Wade Thompson) has been so gracious - not letting us pay for Jason’s 10+ visits while he's out of the job. His back is feeling much better.

#2 The power cord to our cell phone got stepped on & Jason tried to put it in his phone & fix it & it broke the cord & his phone. Then we tried a different power cord on Heidi’s phone & it fried her battery. Both of us were without cell phones. Jason went to St. George to talk with Towne & Country bank & as it turns out, Jeff’s neighbor had a new $400 iphone that she GAVE to Jason because she switched from AT&T!

#3 On the 29th, we went to the Herriman Beach for the first time & the girls had a lot of fun, except McKinley was in the baby floating tube & leaned all the way over & was head down underwater & could not get back up. We were on the beach. Jason ran into the water (fully clothed) & grabbed her. We are SO thankful she is OK!

#4 Apparently bad accounting on Heidi’s part, but we got a $446 check from our credit card company!!

GIRLS ADVENTURES

McKINLEY:
-We got a book called “Leonardo the Terrible Monster” from the library & she has LOVED reading it over & over this month!
-McKinley is big on playing “following the leader” this month – and she ALWAYS wants to be the leader.
-McKinley said “I love candy SO MUCH!” Mom said “Why?” McKinley – “Jesus made me that way.”
-Somewhere McKinley has picked up the phrase “YOU BUTTER!” She will yell it at someone when she’s mad at them.
-McKinley has gotten more into washing dishes. She will sit at the sink & lather up her dishes with the soap wand. The other day she said “Maybe I will be a washer when I grow up!”
-McKinley started Sunshine Square Preschool this month! It’s the preschool that her friend Lizzy goes to. She had a couple days of orientation & then started on the 17th. She has really enjoyed her teacher Miss Amy & her favorite new preschool pal is Lilly. She tries to sing all the cute songs & when she can’t remember she asks mom, but mom doesn’t know them all. One time McKinley got frustrated & said “I wish my teacher was in our family.”
-McKinley learned about the yellow deer signs & now whenever we pass one of the yellow deer signs, she will shout “Dad – you need to watch out for deer!”
-Instead of answering yes if someone asks her how she’s doing or how she liked something, her new thing is to give the thumbs up sign.
-McKinley has been big into “Dinosaur Train” on PBSkids.org this month & tries to sing the ABC Dinosaur song a lot.
-For an activity on Sunday, we came up with a story & drew pictures for our “book.” It is called “Holly the Moose learns to be obedient.” We had fun making it & McKinley talked about Holly the Moose like she was there with her for the next few days.
-McKinley had a great time at Moon Lake with the campfire, beach, sand, water & boat. She loves camping!
-Michael & McKinley were playing at our home the week after we got back from Moon Lake. Mom asked them what they were playing & they said “We’re playing Moon Lake!” apparently they couldn’t get enough!
-That same day when Michael was here, we were talking about McKinley’s approaching birthday. Michael told McKinley that he knew what he was going to get her for her birthday & he was going to tell her, but she had to promise to forget!
-Ireland was sick & so I took McKinley to church. When we were going home I asked if she had a good time at church. She said “yes, but I missed my sister!”
-McKinley gets a kick out of saying the “Why did the chicken cross the road?” joke over & over!

IRELAND: Ireland has been NON-STOP this month! We can hardly keep up with her & her messes! Other than that, here’s some of her latest antics:
-She likes to say “That’s funny!”
-She’s also into saying “Look Mommy/Daddy!” and pointing at a bird or flower, or showing us her latest trick.
-The other day, mommy heard Ireland singing “Follow the Prophet” – so cute!
-Ireland also enjoys playing and singing “following the leader.”
-Ireland loves to bring up a cup or a plate from the princess tent downstairs for mommy & daddy to eat and drink.
-We were looking at mommy’s big pregnant tummy one day & Ireland went over to daddy, lifted up his shirt & said “baby in daddy ‘s tummy?”
-Ireland has finally figured out how to get up on the barstools. She’s still a bit scared getting down from them, though.
-Ireland LOVES getting into mom & dad’s bathroom drawers. One day, she was smelling strongly of cologne & we found it in her room. Her room also smelled heavily of CK Cologne for the next few days.
-Mommy will ask Ireland “Why?” and she will respond “Cuz!”
-For about a week, Ireland was OBSESSED with carrying around this soap she found in mom’s bathroom. She wanted to take it everywhere with her – including in the car.
-One day, Ireland put her bowl & spoon in the dishwasher after breakfast without being asked. Big girl!!
-Ireland went poopie in the potty a couple times this month!
-Ireland is usually a really great sleeper, but one night at 4am, she was just up talking, yelling something to us & she wouldn’t go back to sleep. Mom walked in there to put her back to bed & then she realized that Ireland was stark naked & her bed was soaked in pee! Ireland said “Sorry mommy. Need a diaper.” Needless to say, we’ve been putting her to bed in onesies for the past week or so.
-Ireland is still obsessed with shoes, but she’s started being so helpful with others’ shoes. If we are going someplace, she will go get daddy’s shoes for him, mommy’s shoes & even McKinley’s shoes. They’re not always the pair we want, but she sure is helpful! She even tries to put them on your feet!

Bows

These were taken in July & I've been meaning to post. My sister & her friend make these bows & they're SO SO cute! Let me know if you're interested in buying.
Also, people have asked about a baby shower. Since this is a girl & girls can never have too many accessories, I thought it would be fun to have a bow-making shower. Let me know if you want to come! We're just going to have tons of ribbons, buttons, flowers, etc for you to come make some bows for yourself and maybe a couple for me. Should be a lot of fun!

The Gunny Bag Fairy, Pregnancy, and Job Search

Another one of those "random" posts:

-GUNNY BAG FAIRY
So, I was reading in Parents magazine an article about one mom's version of "gunny bag" - they called it the "pick-up fairy" - you know, the lady that comes at night & gets all the toys that are left out and keeps them for a week. Apparently, it worked like a charm for the author's 3-year-old. So... I thought, why not? I decided to combine the 2 & the "Gunny Bag Fairy" is now making regular appearances at my home.

I grew up with "Gunny Bag" (complete with song... see below if you haven't heard it) and it's been fun to sing the song while McKinley picks up her toys. I didn't expect a lot, but she really has gotten into it! No more begging/pleading/threatening (at least for the past week or so we've tried it). She is so fascinated! Every night when we pick up the toys, she will ask me about the gunny bag fairy - "Mom - is the gunny bag fairy a girl?", "Does she have a magic wand?", "Does she fly around?", "Does she eat anything other than toys?", "What if everybody picks up their toys and she's really hungry?" Oh... and the list goes on. She also asked if the gunny bag fairy comes to various friends & family's homes. I told her the gunny bag fairy doesn't come to all homes, which makes her feel a little picked on, so... if she asks you about it, could you just maybe say yes? ;) Now, I just need to find something like this to get her to do her morning chores. Hmmmm....

Here's a cute youtube video of the gunny bag song:


-PREGNANCY
I love you people who tell me I'm a cute pregnant lady. It's so kind - especially since it's so far from the truth :) Sorry... but a cute pregnant lady has skinny little arms and legs and an adorable beach-ball belly. You cannot tell she is pregnant from behind. Her face does not look puffy.
This is not me. The entire truth of the matter is that I've gained enough weight for my entire pregnancy - and I still have 2 more months to go. I try not to full-out smile in pictures now, as my face looks like a huge, poofy ball.
As far as how I'm feeling, my hips have been bothering me a lot lately. I toss & turn seriously 10-15 times a night trying to relieve the pain. I've had the tingles in my hands and arms for the past couple weeks now - especially at night & in the morning, I can hardly use my right hand. The BHX have been going for a few weeks now as well. I'm waking up 2-3 times to pee. My feet hurt.
I'm not just trying to complain. And I will take this ANY DAY over how I felt the first few months. I REALLY am thankful to be pregnant!! I just have to document this for posterity!!

-JOB SEARCH
No luck yet. We are going on 6+ months now with no income. We have been EXTREMELY blessed, though, and we both feel like there is something waiting for us. We just need to have faith and trust in the Lord's plan for our family. Jason is sure working hard to get a job. He's done everything I can think of. It's a bad job market right now - especially in the finance industry. We could still use your prayers - and any leads you can send our way. At first, we were set on a small town, but we are trying to open our hearts and heads to where the Lord wants us, so if that's out of state, or even staying in Salt Lake, we are trying to be open & humble to those opportunities.

Potts Family Reunion - Moon Lake

This past week was our 2nd annual Potts family reunion. Mom & Dad rented 4 cabins up at Moon Lake and we really had a great time. The cabins were pretty rustic, but 3 of the cabins (including #10 - the one we stayed in) had stoves, bathrooms, and fridges! It was BEAUTIFUL up there! Perfect weather, beautiful beaches, and of course, what better company can you have than your own wonderful family? Thanks mom & dad for arranging this great trip! We had a wonderful time!

Here's some fun things we did:

-Ate yummy food (including pizza, spaghetti casserole, raspberry chipolte chicken, pancakes, french toast, sandwiches)

-Roasted marshmallows

-Played games (Phase 10, Mancala, Loaded Questions, 20 questions, 1-word-game)

-Played in Moon Lake (cold, but felt really good!)

-Played in the sand and mud (including building sandcastles, writing in the sand & burying each other)!

-Flew kites

-Went fishing (didn't really CATCH much, but the boys especially had a lot of fun fishing anyway)

-Went on walks

-Glitter Toes (thanks Trish!)

-Mom & Kalli playing guitar

-Reading books (me-Anita Stanisfield, Jason -LOTR, Kalli - vampire books)

-Watching the animals (squirrels, chipmunks, and lots of deer)

-Had fun in the rented paddle boat and motor boats

-Just hanging out and visiting - especially with the Checketts who we don't get to see much!

Of course, we had a bit of drama (McKinley's non-stop runny & sore nose, Cindy's late-night homework in Talmage, Ireland's hour-long screamfest the first night, the Simons & dad not being able to be up there the whole time, running out of things, those nasty buffalo gnat bites), but all-in-all, it was a WONDERFUL trip and we all had a great time!

Here's a slideshow w/ some pics from the trip:

Financial Freedom Seminar

If you've been following my blog, you may remember this post where I talk about reading 20 & Counting - a book about the Duggar family, who have 18 children.

Well, the fact that they have so many children and have been able to build this enormous home, have these huge vehicles, feed and clothe all these kids and still be able to stay completely out of debt intrigued me. How do they do it? Well, they say in the book that the main thing that helped them from the beginning was the Jim Sammons Financial Freedom Seminar from the Institute of Basic Life Principles. I thought about it & prayed about it & we went ahead & spent the $110 for the 10-disc, 20-hour seminar, including the manual which I highly recommend.

Jason & I watched the last chapter last night & we both agreed that it was probably the best $110 we've ever spent.

Why?

Well, where do I start? It goes over 20 principles of financial freedom and they are all based on biblical principles. I admit I was a bit skeptical at first - how can they base this all on scripture? But they truly did. Some of it was reiteration of what our prophets have been telling us forever, some of it was kind of surprising.

Here are the topics that Jim Sammons goes over (I put an asterisk by the ones that REALLY were eye-opening to me):

Disc 1:
Learn what it really means to be financially free.
*Know God’s four purposes for money.

Disc 2:
Identify and reject false financial concepts.
*Recognize God’s reproofs for the wrong ways to riches.

Disc 3:
*Choose to serve God rather than money.
Establish the tithe as a “weekly reminder.”

Disc 4:
*Purpose to keep out of debt. (this is including a mortgage & business debt)
Learn to live within your income.

Disc 5:
Develop sales resistance.
Flee from the hidden traps of swindlers.

Disc 6:
Learn how to get the best buy.
Be committed to an effective accounting system.

Disc 7:
*Never lend to friends or co-sign for a loan.
*Develop the full potential of your home.

Disc 8:
*Choose a good name, whatever the cost.
Learn the principles of praying for money.

Disc 9:
*Avoid business partnerships.
Identify and conquer slothfulness.

Disc 10:
*Listen to the cautions of your wife.
*Prepare now for a lasting heritage.

I will say it took us a long time to get through all these chapters, but EVERY TIME we finished a chapter, we felt closer to each other and closer to God.

I will also say that it took a bit of getting used to - he prays at the beginning and end of each session and some of the terms are not what we're used to as Latter-Day Saints, but I truly did feel the Holy Ghost and was constantly inspired by the stories and principles that were taught.

I will say as well that it took me a little while to get used to Jim Sammons' style, but I soon learned to love this good man and he has an enormous wealth of experiences that illustrate the principles that are taught - and in addition, he has great story-telling abilities.

Of course I'm not pushing this on anyone, but when you find something like this, we both of course want to share this with everyone we know. This is great financial advice that will benefit EVERYone, regardless of your current financial situation, but it's SO MUCH MORE. I feel it's helped me learn to be a better person and a better Christian.

If you have more questions, go to this link. There's even clips from the seminar.

Or e-mail me!

Wonderful Weekend

What a busy, fun weekend!

It basically started on Thursay evening. After Jason helped my Grandpa Tew with some typing, we headed to Holladay for Kylee Fotheringham's wedding reception. She was one of my young women in our Granger ward back in our first few years of marriage. It was so much fun to see her and her family - and a few others from the old ward. I don't think we had seen any of them since before McKinley was born. I'm so glad Kylee & I reconnected on Facebook! It was at her uncle's house in Holladay - gorgeous! The backyard was amazing. I felt like I was in the Northwest instead of Utah - so much vegetation - so many mature trees. Besides how beautiful it was, the reception was just plain fun! Live music, a photo booth (we got to keep a copy and put a copy in their book), and a Letherby's ice cream bar! They even had a playground (in the backyard) next door! It was a perfect night & we had a great time.

Friday morning, it was off to the temple with my grandma, mom & sisters. Holy Moley - it was BUSY! We waited an hour to do initiatory. I was famished by the time we were done, but glad we stuck around to do them. We went to Madeline's afterwards & were treated by grandma & mom to some delicious lunch. As always, I love being around & visiting with those amazing women & feel honored to call them my family!

Friday evening, we grabbed some pizza and headed up to the ward campout. It was just above Woodland. We arrived about 7pm & stayed for about 2 hours (no - we didn't stay overnight. Sorry, people, but at about 7 months pregnant, tenting it is just no fun for me anymore). It was fun to see everyone outside of a church setting and just enjoying the outdoors. The guys (Jason & Bryan) built a blazing fire & we all had a good time visiting & watching the kids run around.

After the "campout" we headed over to Heber. Our friends, the Hoffman's, graciously let us stay with them Friday night. They have a beautiful home & it was so great to visit with them. They are incredible people and their girls are so precious. We are thankful to know them! I made some french toast on Saturday morning & we visited for a bit longer & then we were off again to...

Vernal! We haven't been there for over 2 years - I was pregnant with Ireland the last time we were there. Jason's mom's side of the family is there & it was great to go over & visit with Grandma Stewart. I especially wanted to get a picture of McKinley & "GG Stewart," since she is one of the grandma's McKinley Lou is named after. She wasn't entirely "with it" the entire time, but was very sweet and gentle and loving. We captured a precious video of her & McKinley talking & then she started singing a cute song to her. So sweet. After that, we went next door & visited with Jason's Aunt Kris, cousin Jenifer and Daniel's wife. It was good to see them & their beautiful babies - Joey and Mariah.

That evening, we had the privilege (and I do mean privilege) of staying with the Hatch's - just above Vernal in Dry Fork Canyon. Jason's mom is good friends with Carol and Doug and they were so sweet to let us stay with them. They lived in a cabin that they had renovated and added on to and it was just beautiful! Also, they had horses and dogs and constant hummingbirds, so the girls were in heaven. They were just wonderful hosts and provided a delicious dinner and great conversation. We also got to visit with their son, Jason, and he and Carol and Doug were so cute with the girls. The next morning (Sunday), Jason fixed his pancakes while Carol whipped up some bacon & eggs & we had a yummy breakfast. After that, they let the girls ride the horses and praised their riding. I truly do wish we had access to horses. They love to ride them. After that, we got to go up and see the historical Massey Ranch. Carol's side of the family has a ranch that was homesteaded in the 20's/30's and it's stayed in the family ever since. It was fun to go up and see it. Thanks, Hatch's, for making us feel a part of the family!!

Afterwards, we headed back to visit with Grandma Stewart for a little bit and we also got to see Ryan, Judy, and their kids as well as Aunt Lynette. It was great to visit with them. We need to be better about making it to Vernal more often! We left about 4pm and had a nice drive home. Thanks everyone for your hospitality and a great weekend!